19-year-old son nabbed in his parents' slaying

By Drew Joseph :
August 26, 2013
: Updated: August 27, 2013 4:28pm

Bryant Meza, 19, was arrested on a capital murder charges Monday, Aug. 26, 2013, related to the shooting deaths of his mother and father.

Photo By JOHN DAVENPORT/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Detectives Jesse Ochoa (left) and Rubin Arevelos of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office leave a home on the 1,300 block of Oakcask where a man and a woman were found dead early Monday morning, Aug. 26, 2013. Officials with the Sheriff's Office said they are looking for Bryant Meza, 19, who left the home around 5 a.m. after allegedly shooting his mother and father.

Photo By JOHN DAVENPORT/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Detective Rubin Arevelos of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office leaves a home on the 1,300 block of Oakcask where a man and a woman were found dead early Monday morning, Aug. 26, 2013. Officials with the Sheriff's Office said they are looking for Bryant Meza, 19, who left the home around 5 a.m. after allegedly shooting his mother and father.

Photo By Harry Thomas

1300 block of Oakcask Rd. Suspect apprehended.

Photo By Courtesy Bexar County Sheriff's Office

Bryant Meza

After a day-long manhunt Monday, authorities arrested a 19-year-old man found in a wooded area on the county's West side who police say fatally shot his parents earlier in the day.

Law enforcement officers had been looking for Meza, who left his parents' home on foot, since the shooting about 5 a.m. Monday in the 1300 block of Oakcask in the western part of the county. They had considered him armed and dangerous, Pollard said.

Authorities believe that Meza's mother was still in bed and his father was up and about in the master bedroom when they were shot, Pollard said.

Other family members were in the home at the time, and they tried to stop Meza from leaving but were unsuccessful, he said.

Deputies found a shotgun in the house.

A Border Patrol dog tracked down Meza, who was hiding in the woods just steps away from a shopping center on Potranco Road near Loop 1604. Meza used to work at the Jack in the Box at the shopping center and may have been trying to get some food and water after being on the run for more than 13 hours, Pollard said.

“The dog did a great job,” Pollard said.

Meza was not armed and did not fight back when officials took him into custody. He had no identification or money. He will likely be charged with capital murder, Pollard said.

Neighbors expressed shock that a shooting had occurred in their neighborhood, in far west San Antonio, near Loop 1604 between West Military Drive and Potranco Road.

Earlier Monday, nearby schools were alerted that the suspect was at large and to take precautions. Four elementary schools and one middle school in the Northside Independent School District were placed under modified lockdown, according to the school district's Facebook page. This meant the students could move freely within the walls of the schools but not go outside.